Suggestions for buying sheep/llama shears...electric ones

[snewman]

I have about had it with non-electric devices for trimming my llamas. I have used hand shears and various scissors, etc. If I was to invest in a good electric clipper that can handle the thick, burr-filled fleece of three llamas, what brand/model should it be? Any thoughts, suggestions, etc?

 

[joedie]

I don't know about llamas or sheep but I bought an Oster A-5 for my donkeys on the recommendation of a friend and one year and $300 later - Caput! Worked great while they lasted.

 

[Kitt]

I have a Premier 4000 shears. They work well for me.

 

[snewman]

Do you use the Premier 4000 for sheep and/or llamas? I know they will have to be pretty heavy duty.

 

[Kitt]

I use them for my llama, much to his dislike.

 

[spectrumranch]

Quote:
I used to shear a couple thousand llamas and alpacas each year for customers and other farms. I used several different shears, the ones that I would recomend, and ones we still use for our own animals is a Double K clippers.

Here is a link to show you what they are like: http://www.pfwh.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&Product_ID=3152

I did not look at prices, so you may want to shop around.

I think the advantages far out weigh the disadvantages of using a double K clippers over others.

1. The clipper head is run on a cable. So the motor is not close to the clipper head. This makes the clipper head light weight and the only heat is from the blade friction. Other clippers were heavy and got hot quickly.

2. It uses A5 blades, which are a complete set of blades (blade & comb together). You can easily get them sharpened, to reuse when they become dull.

3. By using A5 blades you do not have to worry about cutting the skin on the animal. With other blades you need to keep the skin tight when clipping because if you get a fold of skin it will slice the animal open. I have never had a A5 blade cut the skin on an animal.

4. The A5 blades come in several sizes (lenght of cut) I usually use #7 or #7F for llamas and alpacas. Occasionally I use #5 and #10.

5. If the animal is not full of sand, you can shear quite a few animals on one set of blades.

I think the only disadvantage with the Double K clippers is the cutting path is only about 2 inches wide, where other clippers are about 3 to 4 inches wide cut path. But the safety in not worrying about slicing the animal open, I feel is well worth having to make more cut paths.


We currently use a Double K to clip..... llamas, alpacas, sheep, goats, horses, cattle, camels, the dog and anything else that needs to be clipped.

For llamas and alpacas, we use a grooming blower to remove as much dirt, dust, debris as we can before shearing.

 

[snewman]

Thank you, this gives me a starting point!

 

[snewman]

Has anyone used Oster Shearmaster sheep shears? There's a craigslist ad cheap for one used once.